Declining investment and a lack of progress on alternative energy development could lead to sharply higher oil prices in the decades ahead, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its 2009 World Energy Outlook.
The IEA for the past year has warned that the financial crisis was undermining investment in energy development. The advisor to 28 developed nations says the financial crisis is already responsible for a $90 billion drop in worldwide oil and natural gas investment, which is 19% below last year's levels.
"Falling energy investment will have far-reaching and, depending on how governments respond, potentially serious consequences for energy security, climate change and energy poverty," said the IEA.
The decline in energy supplies combined with a sharp rise in prices could "undermine the stability of the economic recovery," it added.